Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, recently compared LGBT Pride celebrations to dedicating a month to extol the virtues of adultery or drunkennness.

In a radio interview obtained by Right Wing Watch, Perkins told a caller named J.R. “Now, I have not yet seen where they have declared Adultery Pride Month. I have not seen where they have declared the Drunkenness Pride Month…We’re talking about redefining the rest of culture and making others both embrace, celebrate and subsidize. We’re talking about changing the laws that will influence what our children are taught in schools, it’s already happening in those states that have legalized same sex marriage or had it forced upon them by the courts…We never asked for this debate, I entered into public office working on marriage policies to promote marriage, but it was the homosexual community that wanted to have this discussion on redefining marriage,” he continued. “Whether it’s adultery, whether it’s any type of sexual immorality it’s a problem, but we’re not celebrating those other forms as a society, we’re not promoting it and teaching it as normal in our schools. And where they do bring it up, yes, we do address them. This is where the battle lies right now for the future of our country.”

But the caller, J.R., went a step farther and stated that homosexuality was far worse than either adultery or drunkenness, saying “Most of the problems that Christians have is that you don’t see people that are drunken or adulterers trying to force their beliefs on others, you don’t see them trying to you know instill their ideals on others.”

Perkins readily agreed, stating that when it comes to drunkenness, there are laws to try to protect the rest of society.

When asked by CNN host Brooke Baldwin last month why homosexuals bothered him so much, Perkins insisted, “They don’t bother me…I’m not going to be silent while they try to redefine marriage in this country, change policy, what my children are taught in schools and what religious organizations can do. I’m not going to be silent, nor are millions of other Christians across this country.”

“We don’t have a dislike for homosexuals,” he added. “They don’t have a right to redefine marriage for the rest of us, they don’t have a right to take away my religious freedom, they don’t have a right to step between me and what my child is taught. That’s what’s happening.”

It’s pretty hard to believe that last statement when Perkins paints the LGBT community as no better than adulterers or drunks. As for talking about taking away rights, the only people who are trying to take away rights are those who want to treat LGBT people as something less than the rest of the human race by denying them the right to build a life together and be recognized as committed couples in the same way other committed, married couples are recognized.

Here’s what I want to know. How is Mr. Perkins’ marriage affected by the marriage of a same-sex couple? How does their union diminish his? Is the knowledge that same-sex people are enjoying a loving relationship getting in the way of him enjoying a loving relationship with his wife? And if so, in what way? How is the existence of a gay married couple in any way impinging upon Mr. Perkin’s religious rights? Are rabid LGBT couples barring access to his church? Are they shouting down his minister during a sermon? How, exactly do they pose a threat to his religious freedom?

I’m not sure which laws Mr. Perkins is referring to when he mentioned promoting homosexuality in schools but if Mr. Perkins doesn’t want his children to be taught that all are equal under the law and in the eyes of God, then perhaps he should consider sending them to a religious school that favors his views. I’m sure he wouldn’t have too difficult a time finding a Christian school that would preach the message that to be gay is tantamount to serving Satan. It isn’t the message of Jesus, but lately it seems that love they neighbor and do unto others has been “redefined.”

The Family Research Council has a long history of making outlandish and hateful statements regarding the gay community, including the insistence that being gay is a choice and can be cured.

“This is another attempt by the homosexual lobby to indoctrinate children as young as kindergarten in the homosexual lifestyle. Young people who are sexually confused need the facts about homosexuality. They need to know that research shows they aren’t `born gay,’ that there is hope for a way out of the lifestyle, and that continuing in homosexuality presents serious health risks. The NEA’s proposal would censor such honesty.” —Family Research Council spokeswoman Genevieve Wood on the National Education Association, Washington Times, July 4th, 2001

There are statements proclaiming that homosexuals are pedophiles.

“…one of the primary goals of the homosexual rights movement is to abolish all age of consent laws and to eventually recognize pedophiles as the ‘prophets’ of a new sexual order.” —”Homosexual Behavior & Pedophilia,” a FRC publication, July 1999

“Gaining access to children has been a long-term goal of the homosexual movement.” —”Homosexual Behavior and Pedophilia,” FRC publication, July 1999

The only rights and freedoms up for grabs that I can see are the rights and freedoms of LGBT people. They are to shut up, deny who they are and conform to a narrow view of the world manufactured by people with small minds. The only people who are trying to force an agenda down the throats of others are people like Mr. Perkins.

Back in the day, Jesus hung out with twelve men and a whore. What would Mr. Perkins have to say about that?

Ann Werner is a blogger and the author of two thrillers and two works of non-fiction. You can view her work at ARK Stories.

Author: Ann Werner
Ann Werner is the author of two novels: The People Next Door and Dreams and Nightmares, and has collaborated with her daughter on two non-fiction books: The Virgin Diaries and Ain't No Sunshine: Men Reveal the Pain of Heartbreak. She is a former soap actor, having appeared on Days of Our Lives for over seven years and is a woman of strong opinions. She resides in Northern California.

Correction: Back in the day, Jesus hung out with twelve men (apostles)and four women(disciples and perhaps as many as seven acc. to the Apocrypha). That Mary of Mag’dalene was a whore is a fiction propagated by later Christian sects who feared and perhaps were jealous of her close relationship with Jesus. There exists a Gospel according to Mary Mag’dalene, but as with other books of the Apocrypha can’t be verified (but then neither can the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, since there are no extant writings of theirs). Because of her closeness to Jesus, she frequently is called the Apostle of the Apostles. Perhaps “The DaVinci Code” had it’s facts straight.